Fitness Challenge: Mud Run and Kale

The night before a big run, I usually make a simple kale salad that was in Runner's World years ago. Essentially, it is a lot of kale, parmesan cheese, pine nuts and currants.

But I was having a dinner party the night before the first Muddarella, so I wanted to make something more elaborate. And we'd just gotten a gift basket with gorgeous pears, so I had to include them.

 Kale and Pear Salad

1 bunch Lacinato kale, cut in very thin slices

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup basil, diced

2 T mint, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 T butter

3 T olive oil

2 T truffle honey

2 pears, diced

cinnamon

juice of 1 lemon

3 T red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Put kale, garlic, and herbs in a large salad bowl.

Cook onion with butter and 1 tbsp olive oil for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add 1 T honey and continue cooking until caramelized, 10-15 minutes.

Place cooked onion in bowl with kale. In the same pan, saute diced pear until tender but still firm. Add a dash of cinnamon and 1 T honey to the pears. Add to the kale and mix. 

Add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, to taste.

Let the salad sit for at least 2 hours to tenderize the kale.

The salad may not have given me strength (and the Thai basil cocktails probably sapped it anyway) but it was a delicious and healthy start to the meal.